
Walk into the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and you’ll think you’ve entered into an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure type exhibit. At the entrance, you’ll be greeted with a question on the floor — “Where does it go?” — and an invitation to “play the decision game.”
That “game” is actually just one piece featured in California Design Biennial: Action/Reaction, which brings together a curated collection of designs created in California — in industrial design, fashion, graphic, transportation and architecture. “Where Does It go?” is an installation designed by Indhira Rojas and Ellen Keith aimed to educate people about recycling and composting — and many other pieces at Action/Reaction also have green aims behind their designs.

At the opening reception last Saturday, eco-fashionistas admired Koi Suwannagate’s recycled vintage cashmere haute couture (above) and Calleen Cordero’s greener footwear and accessories, handcrafted in North Hollywood out of recycled wood, veggie-tanned leathers, and mostly locally-sourced materials. On the more casual end, simple yet multifunctional garments like a hoodie-tote bag (below) got visitors’ attention. Those were designed with the help of Project H design and made by the women at the Downtown Women’s Center out of scavenged and donated materials.

Cyclists will be happy to know about a half dozen bikes are on display — along with cute bicycle route signage from the California Institute of the Arts’ Better Bikeways Project and a nod to Google Maps for adding walking, biking, and public transit directions.

Featured designs range from gigantic to tiny, ranging from big green architecture like Santa Monica’s Annenberg Community Beach House to small Victory Seed Envelopes (above) designed by Futurefarmers. Bigger brand names creating greener products are all over this exhibit too, from Puma’s reusable shoebox to Method’s somewhat greener cleaning products to Toyota Prius’ floralscape advertisements.

The most zen koan-inspiring design? Eco-friendly scents from Strange Invisible Perfume. If a perfume’s trapped in a glass vial locked in a plastic case and no one can smell it, does it have a scent? Mull that over while learning about green design at the California Design Biennial: Action/Reaction, before the show closes on October 31.
Pasadena Museum of California Art. 490 E. Union St., Pasadena. 626.568.3665 Wed. – Sun., noon – 5 pm. General admission: $7.



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